The XES standard defines a grammar for a tag-based language whose aim is to provide designers of information systems with a unified and extensible methodology for capturing systems behaviors by means of event logs and event streams is defined in the XES standard. An XML Schema describing the structure of an XES event log/stream and a XML Schema describing the structure of an extension of such a log/stream are included in this standard. Moreover, a basic collection of so-called XES extension prototypes that provide semantics to certain attributes as recorded in the event log/stream is included in this standard.

This standard defines World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Extensible Markup Language (XML) structure and constraints on the contents of XML 1.1 documents that can be used to represent extensible event stream (XES) instances. A XES instance corresponds to a file-based event log or a formatted event stream that can be used to transfer event-driven data in a unified and extensible manner from a first site to a second site. Typically, the first site will be the site generating this event-driven data (for example, workflow systems, case handling systems, procurement systems, devices like wafer steppers and X-ray machines, and hospitals) while the second site will be the site analyzing this data (for example, by data scientists and/or advanced software systems).

To transfer event-driven data in a unified manner, this standard includes a W3CXML Schema describing the structure of a XES instance. To transfer this data in an extensible manner, this standard also includes a W3CXML Schema describing the structure of an extension to such a XES instance. Basically, such an extension provides semantics to the structure as prescribed by the XES instance. Finally, this standard includes a basic collection of such extensions.

The purpose of this standard is to provide a generally acknowledged XML format for the interchange of event data between information systems in many applications domains on the one hand and analysis tools for such data on the other hand. As such, this standard aims to fix the syntax and the semantics of the event data which, for example, is being transferred from the site generating this data to the site analyzing this data. As a result of this standard, if the event data is transferred using the syntax as described by this standard, its semantics will be well understood and clear at both sites.

Note that although the IEEE approved of the IEEE 1849-2016 XES Standard based on the preprint, changes have been made in the published document. As such, the preprint differs from the published document and is therefore outdated.